Intel, Leidos Advance COVID-19 Healthcare Initiatives

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Leidos, a Fortune 500 science and technology leader, is using blockchain-based data security running on Intel technology to accelerate and secure contact tracing through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) MicrobeTrace Next platform. This project is part of Intel’s Pandemic Response Technology Initiative (PRTI), which provides grants to hundreds of ventures aimed at combatting the coronavirus through accelerated access to technology.

Historically, contact tracing has been paper-based, requiring public health officials to fill out hard-copy forms and possibly even transcribe the data to a computer system. With the emergence of COVID-19, a need to quickly gather, analyze and report data in a timelier manner became imperative and was the genesis for transforming the CDC’s MicrobeTrace platform, with help from Leidos, First Genesis, Dell and Intel technologies.

MicrobeTrace Next supports data sharing between states and local jurisdictions, creating the potential for a secure national and regional contact tracing framework. The system enables mobile data entry and enhanced data visualization through a self-service dashboard, with all personally identifiable information protected via ransomware-resistant, blockchain-based data security. Leidos used Intel’s processor technologies built into the silicon to provide unique capabilities that improve the privacy, security and scalability of distributed ledger networks. The ability to more securely share highly sensitive and confidential information also provides field representatives and public health officials with a more efficient way to collect, transmit and analyze data more intelligently post-pandemic, to improve public health outcomes for critical diseases such as HIV.

Long-standing industry challenges are even more acute in the COVID-19 pandemic. Through grants from Intel’s PRTI, projects like this are fueling technological innovations and new approaches to aid in the fight against COVID-19.

With everything moving from the edge of the network to the cloud, securing sensitive information is more important than ever. Intel’s zero trust security solutions allow business transformation in healthcare, supporting multiparty collaboration while helping maintain data privacy and regulatory compliance. Rooted in silicon, Intel hardware and software-based security create a trusted foundation for protecting data in all its phases: at rest, in flight and in use.